Release-clevis for car-couplings.



' E. JONES RELEASE CLEVIS FOR CAR COUPLINGS.

- APPHCATION FILED SEPT. 13. 191?- 1,274,057.

Patented July 30, 1918.

. 5 tically any repairman,

EDWIN JONES, or CLEVELAND, 01110.

RELEASE-CLEVIS FOR CAR-COUPLINGS v To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWIN JONES, a citiz en of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the-county of Cuyahoga and State or Ohio, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Release-Clevises forCar-Couplings; andI do declarethe fol lowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it apper-- tains to make and use the same;

My invention relates to improvements in release clevises for car couplers and has for its principal objectto provide a simply constructed and inexpensive yet highly efiicient and durable clevis which will elimij nate the use'of complicated arrangements of parts such those now ployed, thus minimizing the liability 9t breakage and the trouble and cost of repair.-

A further-object is to provide a clevis which may be used to advantage with the. iisual release lever-without changing the brackets of said leveror altering it in any 26 way.

Yet anotherand highly important object is .to -provide a clevis which may be either applied or detached withina few minutes by the railway repairmen having charge of- 80 siich,.w1thout thenecessity of sending the car to-the shop.

. -A still further object is toconstruct the device so that in case of emergency, it may be quickly and easily duplicated, by practhus eliminating the necessity ofsubstituting odd parts as is now often necessary, since some of the'clevises used cannot be constructed in the limited time available.

lVith the foregoing View, the invention resides in the novel 1? a- I 'tures of construction and unique eoinbii a- .tions'of parts to be hereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter biiig supplemented by the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specifiiation and in which Figure l is a perspective view showing one form of the'iinproved clevis in use with the coupler in locked position;

Fig.9 is a perspective of theclevis .detached;

.Fig. 3 is aside elevation. of Fig. l wilh the connecting bolt in section;

Fig. 4 is aduplicate of Fig. 3 with the c ception that it illustrates the manner in Specification of Letters Patent.

commonly ems M 'ed in numerous ways with the entrally-porequired 'gehcral objects in Patented July 30,1918.

Application filed September 13 1917; Serial No. 191,214.

which the clevis releases the locking pin of y the coupler;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Figs. 3 and 4 but illustrating'theposition of parts with the knuckle lock in .lock set posit-ion;

Fig. (5 is a detail side elevation showing a slightly'ditlerent form ofconstructioi and,

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of Fig. (3..

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates a car'coupler of well known type, although. the improved clevis is also applicable to other niajkes of couplers. In the type shown, the knuckle 1 has the usual knuckle lock within the coupler head, and il' ltwk rcleasepiifl'fi is provided as usual. the. upper end of said pin having the well known link 3 pivoted there- This link has heretofore been"counectsitioned inner arm at of the uncoupling.lever i'i, [)lltpractically all of these ways have been acknowledged inctlicieiit and impractical after thorough testsf Some of the principal faults have been that alterations in the construction and mounting of the uncoupling lever were necessary, and too much tiniea'iid labor were in attaching and detaching the clevis when necessary, for any ofth'e, well known reasons, such asr Uncoupling lever bracket broken. f Uncoupling lever bent or broken. Knuckle lock broken or bent. Knuckle lock worn out orv jammed.

' Coupler head cracked or worn out of gage.

. ,Draft spring broken or missing] Draft timbers ln'okcn or worn out, jetc.

These difliculties areciitirely overcomeby the presentdevice, since'iio alterations are necessary, the 'usual uncoupling lever with its central uncoupling annnand the common brackets (3 for said lever being retained iii' ihciioriginal forn'israud since the clevis is so (.mistlllctcdfls to only require that a comlll()ll bolt or cotter be-renioved or inserted when respectively detaching and-attaching the. device.-

' v i I Tn Figs. 1 to 5, the iinprovialclevis 7 is formed oia single'length of metal in the form of a vertically elongated U whose arm Sare. tormed with'a pair of vertically elon- 0' h I 7 loop f.) being closed at 10, whereas the other is substantially open ,as" ndicated at 11. liy' this construct on, tlieen'dj otthe dev ce \l((l parallel loopsi), the lower end of one as shown clearly in Fig. 6.

adjacent the open end 11 of the loop, may be passed through the usual eye 12 of the release pin2or thelink 3, as the case may be and this having been done, the two loops 9 will straddle the free end of the uncoupling arm t as shown clearly in Figs. 1 to 5, the usual bolt 13 beingpassed through said arm and through the loops as shown. lVhen applied, the device will be highly efficient and durable and may easily be detached whenever necessary for making repairs, either to itself or to other parts of the car which require detachment of the clevis. The loops 9 allow for the necessary longitudinal, lateral. and vertical movement of the coupler head and the closed lower end of one of these loops, together with the partially closed corresponding end of the other loop, act as supports for the bolt 13 when the coupler is either in locked or unlocked position as will be clear from Figs. 1, 2 and 5.

A slightly different form of the invention is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In these figures the arms of the clevis 7 are bent to form vertically elongated loops 9 disposed in parallel relation and positioned in planes parallel with that of the body portion of the U, rather than at right angles to such plane as is the case with the form of the device previously described. This modification requires that the uncoupling arm 4: be flattened at its free end as indicated at t so that it may pass through the two loops 9 V Nhen so arranged, a cotter pin or the like 13 will pass through said arm and will have its ends positioned between the loops 9 to hold the clevis in place. By this arrangement, all strain in releasing the coupling pin is placed directly upon the upper ends of the loops 9 rather than upon a bolt, such as 13 of the form previously described. The device thus possesses greater strength than said previous form and for this reason will preferably be employed wherever possible, but the form originally described is also of great advantage since it may be applied to cars of common construction without flattening the uncoupling arm. It is to be understood also that the loops 5) could be spaced suiliciently to receive the uncoupling arm without flattening it found desirable.

One of the loops 5) of the type of the device illustrated in Figs. (3 and 7, is closed at; its lower end as shown at 10, whereas the other loop open at said end so that the clevis may be applied by simply passing it through the eye of the link member 3 as above described. Either form of the device may be bent upon dies or may be cast, or it will be obvious that it may be constructed by a blacksmith, or by any of the yard repair men having charge of repairing the cars where shop.

I attach great importance, to the fact that the usual brackets 6 are employed without making any changes whatever therein, and similarly no changes are made in the uncoupling lever 5 and its inner arm 4%, unless it is found necessary toflatten the free end of the latter. This is an easy matter, however, requiring little time before it is applied, but after the arm is once in use, the first described form of the invention will be applied thereto, rather than remove said arm to flat-ten its free end.

Another advantageous feature is that the loops 9-9 permit the uncoupling lever to turn quite a distance before it starts to pull upon the clevis. Momentum is thusgathered which makes it extremely easy to release a coupling pin which would otherwise give considerable trouble.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be obvious that although my invention, in both of its forms, is extremely simple and inexpensive, it will be highly efficient and durable. Since probably the best results are obta inedfrom the specific features of construction shown and described, these features are by preference followed, but I wish it understood that within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous minor changes may well be made.

I claim l. The combination of a railway car, a coupler head having a release pin provided with a horizontal eye, a release arm extending longitudinally above the coupler head and having a horizontal eye, means for raising said arm, and a connecting link between said pin and arm, said link comprising a one piece metal rod bent into the form of a U whose base passes loosely through the eye of said pin, the arms of said U being bent downwardly substantially upon themselves to form a pair of vertically elongated loops, the sides of said loops being located on opposite sides of said release arm and on opposite sides of said eye thereof, and a pin passing through this eye and projecting in opposite directions from said release arm, one of said loops being open at its lower end to permit passagt of the link through the release pin eye.

2. A murder release clcvis formed of a single metal rod bent into the form of a vertically elongated U adapted for passage through an eye on the unper end of the release pin, the arms of the U being formed with vertically elongated loops positioned in spaced parallel planes parallel with that of the U, said loops being adapted to receive the coupler release arm, and the lower end of one of said loops being open.

possible, without sending them to the i. the combination of a railway car, a coupler head thereof having the usual release pin with an eye at its upper end, an

arm passes loosely, and a pin passing through the opening in said uncoupling arm aml having its ends received between the two loops.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing.

witnesses.

, EDWIN JONES. Witnesses C. S. GRANEL,

M. J, \VALTHER. 

